Carrie
by Geministarz
Summary: An old -and legandery- friend of Spike's shows up to help the Scoobies.


Carrie  
  
  
  
Okay, this is my first weak attempt at a BtVS fanfic. Please be merciful. Spike's really messed up. Not good at doin him...  
  
  
  
Dawn ran into the room holding her hand over the phone receiver. "Hey, Mom, can I have a friend over this weekend? She's only in town for a few days, and I'd like to see her."  
  
Joyce Summers looked up from the magazine she'd been reading. "I don't see why not. Who is it?"  
  
"Her name's Carrie, and I met her at camp last summer," Dawn replied. "She was visiting one of the counselors."  
  
"Okay. Will she be spending the night?"  
  
"No, but she's here for most of the weekend. We just wanted to get together, and I wanted to make sure you didn't have plans," Dawn replied. "Thanks, Mom."  
  
Joyce smiled and nodded as Dawn returned to her phone conversation. "Buffy, you don't have anything planned, right?"  
  
"Nope," her older daughter replied. "But Giles said he might drop by to drag me off to some magic store or something. Oh, and I've got training, but other than that, I'm yours."  
  
"Okay. Maybe we can do lunch or something." She laughed. "Geez, it sounds like I'm talking to a business associate."  
  
"Yeah," Buffy replied. "We really need to spend more time together, just the two of us. Who cares about saving the world? I've got a mom to take care of."  
  
The doorbell rang. Buffy got up and opened the door. "Hi," she said to the blonde girl she found standing there.  
  
"Um, hi, I'm Carrie... Is this where Dawn lives?" she asked.  
  
"Oh yeah, hang on, she's still upstairs. Come in, please," Buffy said. "Hey, Dawn your friend's here!" she called up the stairs. "I'm Buffy, her older sister."  
  
"Yeah, she told me about you," Carrie replied as Dawn came running down the stairs.  
  
"Hi!" she said as she hugged her friend. "It's so great to see you!"  
  
"Yeah, I know! You've changed so much! You, like, grew up on me or something..." Carrie said with a smile as she returned the hug.  
  
"Well," Buffy said, "I've got to go, Willow's expecting me, but it was great to meet you, Carrie."  
  
"Nice to meet you, too," Carrie replied.  
  
"Bye, Mom!" Buffy yelled as she walked out the door. She met Willow at the corner.  
  
"I was beginning to think you forgot," she said.  
  
"Sorry," Buffy replied. "Dawn has a friend over and I wanted to meet her."  
  
"Yeah, just to make sure she wasn't a demon or something," Willow said, nodding.  
  
"No," Buffy laughed, "I just wanted to meet her. Nothing personal. And there's nothing wrong with being cautious."  
  
"Just so long as you're not over-protective," Willow replied.  
  
"I'm not over-protective!" Buffy exclaimed.  
  
"Sure your not. That's why you're so reluctant to let her do anything without supervision. Your supervision," Willow told her. "But we're not talking about Dawn. She's fine, at least till sundown. We're going to have a good time today, whether you like it or not. Just the two of us. Like we used to."  
  
"Right. Today, I'm all yours."  
  
Several hours and many miles later, Dawn had finally told Carrie everything. "I can't believe you've actually had that much happen to you!" Carrie exclaimed. "And Buffy's the Slayer? How cool is that!"  
  
"Look, you can't tell anybody, okay? I'm not supposed to say anything," Dawn said.  
  
"Oh, no problem, I'm the best at keeping secrets," Carrie assured her. "Especially about identities and stuff. You don't have to worry about me."  
  
"So what about you? What have you been doing all year?" Dawn asked.  
  
"Oh, nothing much..." Carrie said. "Hey, what time was I supposed to have you back?"  
  
"Oh, sometime before dark," Dawn said. "Why?"  
  
"Because, it's gonna be dark in about twenty minutes, and if it took us two hours to walk here..." Carrie trailed off.  
  
"Oh, crap! You're right!" Dawn exclaimed. "Buffy's gonna kill me!"  
  
"C'mon, we'd better go," Carrie said. "Man, I have you for a couple of hours, and you're already in trouble! Good thing I'm not here all the time!" The two started quickly walking back the way they came, and Carrie noticed that Dawn kept looking around nervously. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe," Carrie told her.  
  
Dawn nodded. "Right. I know. But you've never seen a demon or a vampire before. They're terrifying."  
  
"Hey, what happened to 'Oh, scary vampires, they die from a splinter'?" Carrie asked.  
  
"Yeah, well," Dawn started, but she stopped when something jumped out in front of her.  
  
"Relax, it's just a cat," Carrie said.  
  
"Right, a cat," Dawn said. "I thought I saw..."  
  
Carrie suddenly spun around and punched a would-be attacker, then shoved a stake through his heart. He turned to dust instantly. "Saw what?"  
  
"How did you...?"  
  
"I've had some experience with attackers. I know how to handle myself," Carrie explained.  
  
"Yeah, but that was a vampire!" Dawn exclaimed.  
  
Carrie shrugged like it was nothing unusual before saying, "C'mon. I gotta get you home."  
  
"Uh-huh," Dawn replied, slightly stunned.  
  
"I swear, when I get my hands on that girl," Buffy growled. She had been walking around the city for a hour, looking for Dawn and her friend, and still no sign.  
  
"Lost something?" an all-too-familiar voice asked from behind her.  
  
"Spike, unless you know where my sister is, get lost," Buffy told him.  
  
"Haven't seen her. Why, she finally run away?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Buffy demanded as she spun around to face him.  
  
"I mean that, with the way you treat her like a fourth grader, I'm surprised she's still around," he replied. "She's what, fifteen or something? And she's still gotta baby-sitter?"  
  
"Fourteen, and how did you know that..." Buffy began before a voice behind her interrupted.  
  
"Buffy!" Dawn said as she ran up to her sister.  
  
"Dawn, where the heck have you been?" Buffy demanded. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"  
  
"Sorry, we lost track of time," Dawn explained.  
  
"Great, now you've got her insane," Spike said. "Thinks she's got someone with her."  
  
Dawn gave him a funny look. "What are you talking about? Carrie, she... She was here a minute ago. Maybe she got lost or something."  
  
"Well, I'd better go find her. She could get hurt. I don't believe I'm saying this, but stay with Spike. Drive him crazy or something," Buffy said.  
  
"Oh, no, it's okay, she can take care of herself," Dawn said. "When we were coming back, we got attacked by this vampire, and then a demon, and she killed them both."  
  
"Really?" Buffy asked, impressed. "But I still have to find her. Even if it's just to say thanks." She ran off in the direction Dawn had come from.  
  
"What'd she look like?" Spike asked. "Carrie, I mean."  
  
"Um, blonde, a little taller than me, blue eyes. Why?" Dawn replied.  
  
"Sounds like someone I used to know. What do you say we follow her?"  
  
"Sure," Dawn said, happy to be doing something. She started to go after Buffy, but Spike stopped her.  
  
"Let's go this way," he said. "I have a feeling."  
  
"Okay. As long as you're not trying to trick me," Dawn said with a grin.  
  
"How'd you guess?"  
  
Suddenly, a figure dropped down behind them. "Hey, Dawn, I gotta go, but I'll try to see you again before I leave," Carrie started, but stopped when she saw Spike. "Hi," she said quietly.  
  
"Carrie," he replied. They stood there, looking at each other for a few seconds before she ran into his arms. "It's been so long," he said as he held her.  
  
"Too long," she told him.  
  
"Um, did I miss something?" Dawn interrupted.  
  
Carrie pulled away from him, but held onto his hand. "Dawn, how do you know Spike? And better yet, why didn't you tell me you knew him?"  
  
"He's one of my sister's friends," Dawn replied.  
  
"I wouldn't say that," Buffy said as she walked over. "Please explain," she told Spike.  
  
He shook his head. "Later," he mumbled as he pulled Carrie along with him. "For now, I gotta spend some time with my baby."  
  
Dawn blinked. His baby? "Carrie?" she called after the two.  
  
"Dawn," she said, turning again, but hanging onto Spike, "I'll drop by sometime this week. I think I'll be here longer than I thought."  
  
"Um, okay," Dawn mumbled as she walked away. "You have any idea?" she asked her sister.  
  
Buffy shook her head. "Not a clue."  
  
The next day, Carrie walked over to the Summers' again. She had spent the entire night catching up with Spike, and was a little tired, but she really needed to clear some things up with Dawn. "Hey," she greeted her friend as she came into the house.  
  
"Hey yourself," Dawn replied. "What was up with last night? With Spike, I mean. Do you have any idea how old he is?"  
  
"Um, it's like, 126 or something, I think," Carrie replied. "Spike's an old friend. And I don't mean boyfriend. He's kinda like a father slash brother to me"  
  
"Oh. Well that makes a... Wait... How do you two know each other?" Dawn demanded, just as Buffy walked up.  
  
"Yeah, I'm curious myself," she said.  
  
"Actually," Carrie started, "I don't think you'd believe me."  
  
"Try us."  
  
"Okay," Carrie muttered. "We met a long time ago. Back when he was with Angelus and Darla and Dru. I was living on the street and he found and took care of me. None of the others liked me much, and they ended up trying to kill me and then they all left, as did I. Spike said he left them for a while after that, but they ended up getting back together again."  
  
"Okay, nice try, but there are several problems with your story," Buffy said. "First, you couldn't have been alive back when Angel didn't have his soul, and even if you were, when three vampires decide to kill someone, they usually succeed unless a Slayer's around."  
  
"I told you you wouldn't believe me. But I swear it's the truth. Check with Spike, or Angel, or Dru, or Darla. They'll tell you," Carrie said.  
  
"Darla's dead, and we don't know where Dru is. If we did, she'd be dusted by now," Buffy told her.  
  
"Geez, Buffy, cut her some slack," Dawn interrupted. "If that's what she said, I'll believe her. Even if it is kinda strange."  
  
"Thanks, Dawn," Carrie said, with genuine surprise in her voice and eyes.  
  
"You'll just have to explain it to me later," Dawn finished. "Right now, I've got to go to school."  
  
"Oh, crap, that's right. Sorry, I forgot," Carrie said.  
  
"Hey, I don't mind being late," Dawn said. "C'mon, you can walk with me."  
  
"Actually, I'd like to talk to her," Buffy said. "If you don't mind, I mean."  
  
"No, I don't, but I reserve the right to silence," Carrie replied.  
  
"Okay, I'll see you later then," Dawn said as she walked down the street with a quick wave over her shoulder.  
  
The two girls stood there for minute, looking at each other. Finally, Buffy broke the silence. "C'mon. You'd better sit down, this could take a while."  
  
Carrie didn't reply, but went where she was told, and sat down.  
  
"All right, I'm willing to believe you, but first, what are you? Demon? You can't be a vampire, not with the sun out and all, so what are you?" Buffy demanded.  
  
Carrie stared at her silently for a minute. Then, just as Buffy was beginning to believe she wouldn't answer, she quietly said, "I don't know."  
  
Buffy blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know what I am." She smiled grimly. "It's funny, I've got all the signs for a vampire or demon, all their strengths, but none of the weaknesses. Crosses, Holy Water, all that doesn't bother me. And neither does the sun, although that doesn't bother a lot of vamps. But I've got a type of eternal life, and the strength, and a lot of other fun stuff too."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Like, telekinesis, and me and Spike have a telepathic link, and I can make stuff appear out of nowhere, and the whole if-you-kill-me-I-come-back-to- life thing, although it's really annoying. You have no idea how hard it is to live watching everyone else die," Carrie said, avoiding eye contact. "Oh, yeah, and I don't age. That's a fun one. Other than with Spike, I can't stay in one spot for over a year. People start to notice. And I can't believe I just told you all that. Spike's the only person I've ever confided in like this."  
  
Buffy just watched her silently. "You must've had a hard life. How old are you?"  
  
She shook her head. "I don't know. I've been around for forever. My earliest memory is from, like, a thousand years ago. And I'm not joking."  
  
"Ouch."  
  
"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up," Carrie muttered.  
  
Buffy thought for a few minutes. "You know, I might be able to help you. Find out who you are, I mean." Carrie looked up. "I've got this friend, Giles, and he's really good with this kinda stuff."  
  
"Your Watcher?" Carrie asked.  
  
"How did you...?"  
  
"Spike told me. We spent last night talking, after I kicked Harmony out," Carrie said. "And you know, I can help you train. I'm really good with weapons, especially swords, and I'm great with martial arts and stuff."  
  
"That'd be cool," Buffy admitted.  
  
"And maybe I can help you with a few other things," Carrie said. At Buffy's quizzical look, she added, "You'll see."  
  
"I'll be quite honest with you, Carrie, if you're as old as you say you are... Please don't touch that!" Giles called out to a customer in the magic shop, "we may not be able to help you. My knowledge doesn't go that far back. But we can certainly try."  
  
"I'd appreciate it," Carrie said humbly. "Even if you don't find anything, it's awfully nice of you."  
  
"Do you think," Giles asked her, "that maybe you have some connection with vampires? Buffy said you had a telepathic connection with Spike."  
  
Carrie shook her head. "But it doesn't effect anyone else. Believe me, I've known my share of vampires."  
  
"Maybe," Willow interrupted, "you made it. You said you were alone and scared, and maybe you reached out to Spike and somehow and... Never mind."  
  
"No, Willow, you might be on to something," Giles said.  
  
"I doubt it," Anya said from her place behind the counter, finishing a sale. "Something like that would take an incredible amount of energy."  
  
"Not a problem," Carrie said. When the rest of the group looked at her, she added, "I'll show you later, somewhere more private."  
  
Giles nodded. "Right. If you'll excuse me," he said before moving away. He suddenly paused and asked, "Have you ever heard of a demon named Glory?"  
  
After thinking a moment, Carrie shook her head. "I don't think so. Why?"  
  
"We were having problems with her for a while. She's vanished lately, but still," Giles explained.  
  
"Yeah," Willow said, "she was all, 'Oh, I've gotta find the key' and we were trying to keep it from her an all, and it was kinda cool, but it's kinda over now. Funny, by now, I was expecting to have some other creepy thing attacking us."  
  
Meanwhile, across town in a the Master's old lair, Vulcan thoughtfully paced back and forth, a habit he had gotten into over the years. He walked over to the large map he had projected on the wall. "Now lets' see," he said to himself, "if I were a troublesome pixie without a past, where would I hide?" He sighed. The truth was, he didn't have a clue where to look for the girl. She was so annoying, always jumping from one place to another. His job would be so much easier if she'd just stay still. He kicked the wall in frustration. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. What better way to look for a star than to use one?  
  
Vulcan quickly walked over of one of the ancient books he had collected, and flipped through it until he found the spell he was looking for. After reading it carefully, he walked back over to the map and murmured the incantation. There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly a part of the map was highlighted. Grinning evilly, Vulcan did another incantation to thank the gods of the stars for their help and examined the part of the map. There was a magic store nearby... maybe that's where she was staying. He grabbed his cape and moved to go, but stopped.  
  
"No, better to do this at night. Don't want to make a scene," he told himself. "But that's okay. I'll make the place ready for her in the meantime."  
  
Carrie quickly jumped over the next gravestone and kept running. There was no way she could make it in time for sundown. "I shouldn't have stayed so long," she scolded herself. "Oh, Spike's not gonna be happy."  
  
By the time she got back to the crypt, it was well past sundown, and Spike was up. "A little late?" he asked.  
  
"Sorry," she said, panting slightly. "I got kinda caught up."  
  
He looked at her quizzically. "What do you mean, 'caught up'? With Dawn?" he asked.  
  
"Actually, it was more with Buffy and Willow and Xander. We were talking," she told him. "They're pretty cool, especially Buffy. I can see why you like her."  
  
Spike tensioned immediately. "What do you mean 'like her'? I don't like her. I bloody hate her," he said defensively.  
  
"Spike, have you ever been ever to hide anything from me? No. Have I ever been able to hide anything from you? No. What makes you think I didn't pick that up?" she asked, giving him a look.  
  
"I told you, there's nothing to pick up," he said. When she didn't believe him, he added, "You won't say anything, right?"  
  
Carrie laughed. "No, not if you don't want me to," she said. "But if you don't mind, Giles wanted to know if you could drop by with me tonight. He figured doing lunch wouldn't work for you."  
  
"Lunch..." Spike said wistfully. "I wish I could bite someone."  
  
"Oh, yeah, that chip you were telling me about," Carrie said as she walked over to him. "Here, let me see. I might be able to help. Not with the biting part, but you know, with self defense and all that good junk." She put her hands on either side of his head and closed her eyes, concentrating. A soft glow surrounded her, and after a moment she dropped her hands. "There, that should do it."  
  
"Thanks," he said, dumbfounded. Suddenly, her words seemed to sink in. "Wait, Giles? What does Giles want with you?"  
  
"Oh, they're gonna try to help me find out who I am, but they need to know what I can do first, and plus, I think they're curious, so they wanted to check out the psychic link we share," she told him.  
  
"And how did they find out about that?" he asked.  
  
Carrie blushed. "I kinda told Buffy. It was an impulse thing, she asked and then it all kinda came out. Like I said, I can see why you like her."  
  
"Yeah, well, can we not talk about that?"  
  
"Right. I don't wanna go too late, cuz they gotta sleep and all, but if you wanna eat something first..." Carrie began.  
  
Spike interrupted her. "Ate while I was waiting for you. I'm ready when you are," he told her, grabbing his duster.  
  
Carrie nodded. "Well, if they wanna check out my powers, we might as well save ourselves the walk," she told him. "Here, hang onto me."  
  
He did as she asked, and she took a step forward, pulling him along, and the room faded out behind them. Suddenly, the training room in the back of the shop was there, and the Slayer and her friends were watching in amazement. "You've gotten better at that," Spike commented.  
  
"I've had a lot of practice," Carrie replied before Willow ran up.  
  
"That was so cool!" she exclaimed. "How'd you do that?"  
  
"My older brother taught me," Carrie said.  
  
"Spike taught you how to do that?" Xander said doubtfully.  
  
"Of course not, idiot," Spike said.  
  
"See, I move around a lot, and I've kinda collected a big family over the years, except that none of them are actually related to me, and most of them are guys," Carrie explained. "It's kinda hard to explain. That was the main way of transportation back with these guys I used to live with."  
  
"Interesting," Giles mumbled. "I've never seen anyone teleport like that before, and I didn't think you could do it with another person."  
  
Carrie shrugged. "I guess you can. What do you want me to do?"  
  
"Well, let's take up where we left off," he said.  
  
"Which was where?" Spike asked.  
  
"Actually, I was hoping we could run through a few fighting skills," Buffy interrupted. "You said you were a really good fighter, and I'd like to see what you can do."  
  
"Yeah, but see, the thing is, if you're watching, who's fighting?" Xander asked.  
  
"Oh, Spike can do that," Carrie said. "We used to do this all the time."  
  
"Except that now he can't even try to hurt you," Buffy said. "At least, not without giving himself a major headache."  
  
Neither of them responded, but they moved to the center of the room and took up fighting stances. "Don't go easy on me, okay, Spike?" Carrie said.  
  
"Oh, don't worry, I won't," he said with a grin. Then he attacked her. Buffy gasped when he landed a solid punch with barley a flinch. "Sorry," he said.  
  
"Hey, that's what you're supposed to do," she replied, getting up again from the place she had fallen. "But I won't let you catch me unprepared again."  
  
"Wait!" Buffy yelled. "What just happened here?"  
  
"I hit her," Spike said slowly, as if talking to a child.  
  
"Well, duh, but what happened to the 'Oh, ouch my head' part?" she demanded.  
  
"I took out that factor," Carrie explained. "Wouldn't have been a fair fight if I hadn't. Oh, don't worry, he's still virtually harmless to you, unless you attack him. It's only off for self-defense and training sessions and stuff. No biting involved."  
  
"Yeah, Carrie hates it when I bite people."  
  
"Only did it once in front of me," Carrie told them. "I asked him not to, and he stopped. Well, not eating people, but he never did it in front of me again. Anyway, can we get back to fighting?"  
  
Buffy nodded and watched in amazement at the series of punches and kicks the two passed back and forth. They seemed to enjoy fighting, although Spike flinched every time he hit her.  
  
"What do you think?" she asked Giles.  
  
"She's a remarkably good fighter. One of the best I've seen," he replied. "If she weren't holding back so much for Spike, we'd have a very interesting fight here. You could learn a few things from her. So could I, in fact."  
  
"So, does this mean we're keeping her?" Willow asked.  
  
"If she wants to stay, it would be a great benefit to us all," Giles replied.  
  
"Cool," Xander said. "More chicks to hit on."  
  
"Not on your life, boy," Spike called out.  
  
"Dumb vampires and their hearing," Xander muttered.  
  
"Heard that too."  
  
"Well, aren't you special?"  
  
"You're sure not."  
  
"Do you two mind?" Willow asked. "We're trying to talk, and Spike's trying to fight."  
  
"He started it," Xander said.  
  
"That was so pathetic, I'm not even going to respond," Spike told him. Carrie suddenly stopped, and Spike did likewise. "What?" he whispered.  
  
"There's something... doing something..." she said.  
  
"Could you narrow that down a little?" Giles asked from his newfound place at her side. "Maybe let us know what being done or what's doing it?"  
  
"I'm not sure... Something powerful... Something evil..." she murmured. Her previously unfocused eyes snapped onto Buffy's face. "Where's Dawn?" she demanded.  
  
"She's home," Buffy replied nervously. "Why? What's wrong?"  
  
"I'm not sure... But you should get there quick."  
  
"I'll go with you," Spike said. "I'm in the mood to kill something. Watch her," he instructed Giles, who nodded. Then the two of them walked out, Buffy going slightly faster than she usually did, with Spike on her heels.  
  
"What do you think's wrong?" she asked as they jumped into Giles's car and sped down the street.  
  
"Can't tell. Carrie does that sometimes... Usually she's not quite this specific though. She really seems to like your sister," he told her.  
  
"Dawn likes her, too," Buffy said. "Talks about her a lot. You think she's okay?"  
  
"She's fine. Carrie was probably wrong. She does that a lot. Says stuff, and then realizes she was wrong," he informed her.  
  
"Oh. So she's fine?" Buffy asked, relaxing slightly.  
  
"I'm almost sure of it."  
  
"Almost?" she repeated as they rounded the last corner on her street. She jogged up the steps to the door and pulled out her key. After trying several times to get it in the lock, Spike grabbed it and unlocked the door.  
  
"Dawn?" Buffy yelled up the stairs. "Dawn, where are you?" When she didn't get a reply, she ran up to her sister's room while Spike checked out the downstairs. When she didn't find her, Buffy came back downstairs and looked hopefully at Spike.  
  
He shook his head. "The window in the other room's broken."  
  
Buffy looked at him and felt like she was going to pass out. Spike noticed and pulled her over to a chair. "Oh, God."  
  
"Hey, I'm sure she's fine," Spike reassured her. "Carrie would've known if she was dead." He glanced around, taking a deep breath. "Look, you stay here, I'm gonna check downstairs."  
  
He quickly ran down into the basement and looked around, flipping on a light. "Dawn?" he called. There was a slight moan from somewhere on the right, and he turned to find Dawn tied up in a corner. He hastily untied her. "You all right?" he asked.  
  
"No," she mumbled. "My head hurts. He hit me with something."  
  
"Who did?"  
  
She shook her head, and immediately regretted it. "I don't know. Some weird guy. I didn't get a good look at him. Said he wanted Buffy, and when I said she wasn't here..."  
  
Spike nodded and carefully picked her up. "I'm gonna bring you upstairs, okay? Try not to fall asleep." She nodded.  
  
As soon as Buffy saw them, she was on her feet. "Are you okay? What happened?"  
  
"I'm fine," Dawn said. "I can take care of myself."  
  
"Doesn't look that way to me," Buffy countered.  
  
Dawn glared at her and was about to reply when Spike interrupted. "That was me. She didn't want to be carried, but I insisted. I'm gonna bring her upstairs, okay?"  
  
"Yeah," Buffy said, nodding. "I'll get you something to drink, okay, Dawn?"  
  
Dawn didn't reply, and Spike brought her up to her room and put her down on her bed. "Thanks for saying that," she mumbled.  
  
"Hey, if you ever want her to let you do anything, you can't have her thinking you're a wimp, right?" he replied. "Besides, it's not like it cost me anything."  
  
"Except that she'll beat the crap out of you if she finds out."  
  
"We'll see," Spike replied. "Carrie helped me out a little, and I'm back in the self-defense department."  
  
"Carrie's awesome, isn't she?" Dawn asked, half asleep.  
  
"Hey, wake up," Spike said. "And yeah, she is. In fact, she told us to come look for you."  
  
"She did?"  
  
"Uh-huh," Spike told her, shaking her slightly. "Don't fall asleep."  
  
"I'm not," she said. "I'm just closing my eyes."  
  
"That's what they always say," he said. "Here, sit up. If you have a concussion, I don't think I'm supposed to let you sleep, but I'm not an expert in healing."  
  
"Yeah, I guess you spent most of your, well, your death, killing people, huh?" Dawn replied.  
  
"Pretty much. It comes with the territory," he informed her.  
  
"Except with Carrie, right? She said you never even tried to hurt her," Dawn said.  
  
"Yeah, well, Carrie's special. She's my baby, and I love her."  
  
Dawn laughed slightly. "Never thought a vampire could love anybody. At least, not one without a soul."  
  
"We're not supposed to," Spike said. "I'm special. Always had to break the rules." He stopped and turned to see Buffy standing in the doorway. "Hello."  
  
She didn't say anything, but handed Dawn some sort of fluid. "Drink that. And he's right, you shouldn't go to sleep. We're gonna bring you to the hospital, okay? Just to make sure you're okay."  
  
"Mom's gonna kill you," Dawn informed her. "You're supposed to take care of me."  
  
"And you're not supposed to let vampires into the house."  
  
"He wasn't a vampire!" she exclaimed. "Or if he was, I didn't invite him in. Maybe you did, but I didn't."  
  
"What else did he say?" Spike asked her. "Anything about who he was looking for? Did he actually say 'Buffy'?"  
  
She frowned. "No, he just said 'her.' I assumed he meant Buffy."  
  
"Maybe not," Spike murmured.  
  
"What are you thinking?" Buffy demanded.  
  
"Later. Right now, we'd better get going," he said. "You finish that yet?" he asked Dawn.  
  
She nodded and gulped down the rest. "I'm okay, really. We don't have to go."  
  
"We're just gonna make sure you don't have a concussion," Spike explained. "Then you can come home, okay?"  
  
"Fine," she said reluctantly. "If I have to."  
  
"You have to," Buffy said. Dawn glared at her.  
  
"Let's just go."  
  
Carrie looked up as soon as they walked in the room. "Well?" she demanded.  
  
"She's fine," Buffy said calmly. "She has a slight concussion, but other than that, she okay."  
  
Carrie sighed thankfully, and Giles asked, "Did she say what happened?"  
  
"Somebody came in and knocked her out," Spike said. "Said they were looking for 'her.' Guy, she said. Didn't get a good look, though."  
  
Xander blinked. "Oh."  
  
"What?" Spike demanded.  
  
"Just, we thought Buffy was going to tell us," Giles said for him.  
  
"She didn't tell me," Buffy said quietly. "Oddly enough, Spike found her. Whoever it was tied her up, and I'm going to make them pay for that."  
  
"Not if I get to them first," Carrie said.  
  
Willow suddenly asked, "What did they want Buffy for?"  
  
"Well, it could be any number of things," Giles began.  
  
"They didn't want Buffy," Spike interrupted. When everyone looked at him, he added, "At least, I don't think they did."  
  
"Then who did they want?" Xander asked. "Joyce?"  
  
"You don't think..." Carrie said.  
  
Spike looked at her. "Maybe. You have a lot of power, and you've been with her a lot recently, so they might have thought that was where you were staying."  
  
"And if you're right," Giles said, "then they'll be coming after her again."  
  
Anya sighed and said, "Well, if none of you are gonna ask, then I will. Who is it?" she asked Carrie. "Mortal enemy, ex-boyfriend, jealous brother?"  
  
"I don't know," Carrie said. "I have a lot of enemies, but none of them are crazy enough to go looking for me."  
  
"Which leaves us wondering, who on Earth could want Carrie badly enough to go after the Slayer's sister, in the Slayer's home to get to her?"  
  
"No," Spike said for what seemed like the zillionth time.  
  
"Spike, would you stop being so difficult?" Buffy snapped.  
  
"She's staying with me," he replied sternly.  
  
They had been doing this for a while, arguing over where Carrie was going to spend the night. Willow, Xander, and Anya had already left, and Carrie had long ago stepped out of the conversation, telling them to decide. Dawn was asleep in a chair nearby, and Giles was trying to get them to hurry up so he could lock up and go home.  
  
"Look, it's really very late, and..." he began.  
  
"Not for me," Spike said. "It's pretty early, and I'll stay here all night if I have to. She's not staying with her."  
  
Buffy growled in frustration. "You can't protect her," she told him.  
  
"And you can?"  
  
"Better than you!"  
  
"You don't even bloody know her!"  
  
Buffy didn't have a reply for that, and by then Dawn had woken up. "Look," she said. "You don't wanna leave her alone with Spike, right?" she asked Buffy.  
  
"Right."  
  
"And you wanna stay with her?"  
  
"That pretty much sums it up," Spike confirmed.  
  
"So why don't you both stay at our place? It's late and I wanna go home," Dawn said.  
  
"No!" Buffy exploded.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because he's Spike!" she replied.  
  
"Good reason," Dawn told her sarcastically.  
  
"I don't care if it's a good reason or not! He's not staying with us!"  
  
"And neither is Carrie," Spike put in.  
  
"Stay out of this!" Buffy snapped at him. He gave Carrie a questioning look, but she just shrugged.  
  
"Funny," he said, "I assumed that since we were talking about where we were staying for the night, we'd be included in the conversation."  
  
"Well you were wrong!"  
  
"Buffy! Knock it off! One stupid night won't kill you!" Dawn said. "I'm tired, and I wanna go home."  
  
"So do I! Come on, Carrie," she said.  
  
"Carrie," Spike said, and she remained where she was.  
  
"Would you two just make up your minds," she said calmly. "Unlike you, I haven't had any sleep for the past two days, and I don't want to make it three."  
  
"Two days? Why not?" Spike demanded, ignoring Buffy for the time being.  
  
"Traveling to get here, and then I spent the day with Dawn, the night with you, and today with all of them," she replied.  
  
"So you should stay with us and get some sleep," Buffy said.  
  
"No, she shouldn't," Spike replied for her.  
  
"Enough!" Giles finally said. "Carrie, where do you want to stay?"  
  
She blinked and looked at Dawn. "You know, Dawn, I think you had a pretty good idea."  
  
"She hates me! That's it, she just hates me, and she wants to make my life miserable!" Buffy exclaimed to her mother.  
  
"Well, Buffy, you were the one who suggested she come here in the fist place," Joyce replied.  
  
"Yeah, her! Not Spike! The invitation was for one!" she told her. "And now I have a vampire sleeping on my couch! And not only will he be here for the rest of the night, but all day too!"  
  
"It won't be that bad," Joyce said, trying to pacify her daughter. "Besides, Spike's not that bad."  
  
"Not that bad!" Buffy exclaimed, giving her mother a look that said, 'why are you betraying me?' "How can you say that? He's tried to kill me more times than I can count!"  
  
"But that was a long time ago, dear," Joyce said.  
  
"But... But..." Buffy stammered, trying to think of a comeback.  
  
"But nothing," Joyce said. "Now go check on your sister and Carrie. Tell them lights out."  
  
"I think they're already asleep," Buffy commented, but got up to go do it anyway. "Just be careful around him, okay, Mom? Even if he does have a chip in his head, and a pretty cool little 'sister' doesn't mean he can't hurt you in some way, shape, or form."  
  
"I will," Joyce promised her daughter. "Now go."  
  
As soon as Buffy left the room, Joyce turned to see Spike standing there. "They're asleep," he informed her.  
  
"You really take care of her, don't you?"  
  
"She's my baby. I love her," he replied.  
  
"I meant Buffy."  
  
He blinked. "Excuse me?"  
  
"You always seem to be around. Yes, I do notice things, and while I don't approve of you stalking my daughter, I can't help but think it's sweet," she said. "Come sit down."  
  
He did as she asked saying, "What do you mean sweet? I'm stalking her because I can't kill her. Kinda a know-your-enemy thing."  
  
"Oh," she said. "Okay, if you say so."  
  
"You don't believe me?" he asked her.  
  
"Not for a minute."  
  
"Well it's true!" he said defensively.  
  
"If I were wrong, you wouldn't be getting so upset," she told him. "You want some coffee?"  
  
"I'm not upset!"  
  
"Then why are you yelling at me? And try to keep your voice down, I don't want to wake the girls," she said. "What do you want in it?"  
  
Spike was about to reply when Buffy walked in again. "Oh, coffee, can I have some, Mom?" she asked.  
  
Joyce nodded and passed her a cup. "Give this to Spike," she said.  
  
Buffy frowned but obeyed. "You know, you don't have to be nice to him."  
  
"You're right, I don't."  
  
Spike grinned at her. "I like your mom, Buffy."  
  
"Thanks," Joyce said as she disappeared into the next room.  
  
Buffy picked up the cup of coffee her Joyce had left her and was about to follow when she asked, "What were you two talking about?"  
  
"You," Spike said. "We were plotting your death. But in a loving way."  
  
"Loving?"  
  
"In your mom's case," he said. "Hatefully in mine. Very hatefully."  
  
"Thanks, I feel loved."  
  
"You are."  
  
Buffy smirked at him and followed her mother. Spike smiled to himself and drained the rest of his drink.  
  
"They think we're asleep," Dawn said quietly into the darkness.  
  
"Yeah. If he weren't so preoccupied, Spike would've noticed I was awake," Carrie told her. "He's like that. I think being here is kinda freaking him out though."  
  
"How come?"  
  
"Oh, no reason," Carrie said, her smile invisible in the dark room. "He'll probably drop by later when everyone else's in bed and tell us to go to sleep."  
  
"But until then we can talk, right? Or are you too tired?" Dawn asked.  
  
"No, I can talk for a while. I'll probably sleep late though," she replied.  
  
"That's okay."  
  
They laid in silence for a while. Then Dawn said, "I think my sister likes your brother more than she'd like to admit. Just don't tell her I said that."  
  
"Spike likes her too. But I didn't tell you that," Carrie said. "They can't know yet. It would ruin everything."  
  
"Yeah. So it'll be our secret."  
  
"Yeah. Spike would love it if we told him though."  
  
The awkward silence followed again. "Hey, Carrie?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Do you ever get scared? You know, when you're up against a demon or something?" Dawn asked. Carrie could hear her roll over.  
  
"Sometimes."  
  
"Do you think Buffy does too?"  
  
"Sure. Everyone gets scared. Why?"  
  
Dawn didn't reply for a minute. "A while back, there was this snake demon thing that showed up at the magic shop. He looked at me, and it really freaked me out. The eyes, they looked like, I don't know, they were searching for something. It wasn't afraid of Buffy, and after it saw me, it left. It kinda freaked me out."  
  
"It must've. That happens, Dawn. Especially to you, being the Slayer's sister and all," Carrie informed her friend.  
  
"Don't say that," Dawn said, turning to lay on her back again.  
  
"It must be really annoying. She's really protective, isn't she? Never wants to let you do anything," Carrie commented.  
  
"You have no idea," Dawn said, sitting up in frustration. "It's like, she has to protect me from everything, but I'm not aloud to do anything to help myself."  
  
"True. If you want, I'll teach you a few moves," Carrie said.  
  
"Really? That'd be really cool, Carrie."  
  
"No prob. It'd be fun."  
  
"You think maybe someday she'd let me go slaying with her sometime?" Dawn asked. "I mean, she does it so much, and then after that we've got school and homework, and she's got training, and I never really get to spend any time with her. And when we do, we're always fighting."  
  
"Still, it must be nice to have someone," Carrie said. "You don't know how lucky you really are, Dawn."  
  
"I'm sure."  
  
"You are. You've got a family who you don't ever have to leave, and your whole life ahead of you. And you'll grow up, and get married and have everything that I'll never have. A family, and a future, and death," Carrie said. "People think death is such a tragedy, but I think of it as rest. No more having to do this, and do that. Just wonderful rest."  
  
"You never stop, do you? You always have to do something."  
  
"Yeah. Saving someone, helping someone else. You think it's so great, but it's really horrible," Carrie explained. "You think it'd be awesome to go out there and play Supergirl, but as soon as you start, there's always something you can't do, someone you can't save."  
  
"You're right, I never thought of it that way," Dawn said.  
  
Carrie glanced at the electric clock on the table next to her. The glowing red light told her it was well past midnight. "Get some sleep," she said. "I'll talk to you in the morning."  
  
"Okay," Dawn said. "Night."  
  
"Night."  
  
Sunrise was only a few hours away, and Spike's internal clock was telling him to get home quickly. He was stretched out on the Summers' couch, the TV off so not to bother anyone upstairs, thinking about why he was here. "What's so special about her?" he asked himself aloud, thinking of Carrie. "Why am I so damn protective? I'm acting like the bloody slayer with her precious kid sister!"  
  
"Thinking of me?" a voice came from the stairs. "Or were you thinking of someone else and using me as a cover up?"  
  
"I think you know," he replied. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"  
  
Carrie stepped out of the shadows and walked over to him. "Couldn't. Something's keeping me from completely trusting them, or something in here, and it's keeping me awake. I thought maybe if I was with you it'd go away."  
  
"C'mere," he said, sitting up. She climbed into his lap. He laughed quietly. "You act like you're only a little girl, scared and insecure."  
  
"I am. Well, except for the little part."  
  
"Yeah," Spike said as he started unconsciously running his fingers through her hair.  
  
"You used to do that when we first met," she told him.  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"You don't even notice things like that, huh?"  
  
"Things like what?" he demanded.  
  
"Nothing," she said, laughing quietly. He shook his head and laid back, pulling her down on top of him.  
  
"Go to sleep."  
  
"Okay. Night, Spike.," she said, resting her head against his chest.  
  
"Night, love."  
  
When Buffy started downstairs the next morning, she had completely forgotten about their guests until she saw Dawn standing near the bottom of the stairs, looking into the living room. "What's wrong?" she asked her younger sister.  
  
"Sh," Dawn replied quietly. "Look."  
  
Buffy glanced in and saw Spike stretched out on the couch with Carrie sleeping on top of him. It startled her how cute and peaceful the two of them looked. "I thought Carrie was sleeping in your room," she said after she led her sister into the next room.  
  
"She was. I woke up this morning and she wasn't there, and then I found them like that down here," Dawn explained. "Cute, aren't they?"  
  
"Yeah," Buffy said. "Carrie is anyway. Spike's never cute."  
  
Dawn shook her head. "How can you say that with a straight face? He's so funny, especially when you catch him doing something and he tries to lie his way out of it."  
  
"No, that's when he's pathetic."  
  
"Yeah, but in a cute way."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Go get ready for school!" she said quietly.  
  
"I'm going, I'm going," Dawn replied with a grin. "Just remember, the first step to a recovery is admitting you have a problem. You have a problem, Buffy."  
  
With that, she walked out of the room, leaving her sister to call after her, "What do you mean?"  
  
Vulcan paced back and forth through the large enclosure. "Where is she!" he yelled to the open space. "How could she get away!"  
  
He had had it all planned so perfectly. Go to the house, demand to know where she was, and then take her away to the torture chamber he had prepared for her, where he would force the answers out of her. But no, she had to be out. Couldn't have just gone the way he had planned it. And now he found out that she was staying with the Slayer! If he had known that, he would've taken the girl who opened the door. She had thought she was so safe; no one could come in without an invitation. Well, he had showed her! He hadn't even planned on hurting her, but the way she showed no fear for him had enraged him. So now the Slayer was probably after him. He froze with a sudden realization; the girl probably thought he was after her sister! That could work for his advantage!  
  
An evil grin spread over his face as a new plan started to form in his mind.  
  
"So, how are we gonna do this?" Dawn asked, nervously shifting her bag from one hand to the other. Carrie had told her to grab a workout suit and come with her to the magic shop to work on a few exercises. However, she had not planned on her sister being there. And Xander!  
  
"Easy. We're gonna kick all of them out, and then I'm gonna teach you how to defend yourself, Carrie explained. "When you get that down, then we can work on a few offensive moves."  
  
"And how are we gonna kick them out?"  
  
Carrie grinned. "Just leave that to me," she said as they walked in.  
  
"Hey, Dawn," Xander greeted them. "Gonna start workin out too?"  
  
Dawn managed a weak smile as her face turned bright red.  
  
"Actually, I'm gonna teach her martial arts," Carrie told him. She looked at Buffy. "You got a watch on?"  
  
"Well, yeah, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to..."  
  
Carrie interrupted her. "Good. Then I want you to go running in one direction for, oh, fifteen minutes, and then come back and I'll tell you what to do from there."  
  
Buffy blinked in surprise. "Giles?" she asked.  
  
"You'd best do what she says," he replied. "She's better in that sort of thing than I am."  
  
"But why do I have to run?" Buffy asked, almost whining. "It's not like vampires are the type for cross-country."  
  
"You never know," Carrie said. "Now go." Buffy sighed, but obeyed. "And the rest of you," Carrie continued, "either go with her, or get lost, cuz we're working and you're not gonna be around to watch."  
  
Xander, Anya, and Giles quickly left.  
  
"Nice," Dawn said. "You think she'll actually run?"  
  
Carrie shrugged. "It'll be good for her if she does, but I'm not gonna make her. Just needed to get her out of here." She moved to the center of the room. "First off, stretching," she said.  
  
By the time Buffy got back, she had been out for over a half hour. Still panting, she grabbed a bottle of water and collapsed into a chair. "I have never run so much in my entire life," she stated.  
  
"Tired?" Xander asked sympathetically.  
  
"Just a little," Buffy shot back, moving to enter the training room.  
  
"I wouldn't," Anya warned her.  
  
Buffy ignored the warning and stepped silently into the room. Dawn didn't look up, and neither did Carrie, although Buffy knew she was aware of her presence. The two of them were in the middle of the room. Dawn's face was red, and they seemed to be working on blocks. Carrie would throw a slow punch of kick, nothing complex, and Dawn would try to block it. If she did it wrong, Carrie corrected her and continued in no particular order.  
  
Buffy watched in amazement at how much her younger sister had picked up in the short amount of time she had been working. As time went by, they started getting into slightly harder stuff, and then the attacks started coming quicker. Dawn was really very good at this.  
  
The Slayer glanced at her watch and noticed what time it was, so she quickly stepped out of the room. Her Watcher looked up when she entered. "What are they doing in there?"  
  
"Carrie's teaching Dawn martial arts," Buffy replied. "And Dawn's doing pretty good. It's only defensive moves, and nowhere near as fast or as hard as I get it, but still."  
  
"She's growing up, isn't she?" Xander asked.  
  
Buffy nodded. "Too fast. I feel like..."  
  
"Like she's gonna stop needing your protection soon?" Anya asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"It was bound to happen sometime, Buffy," Giles told her.  
  
"I know, but... Why did it have to be so soon?"  
  
Spike woke up the instant she entered the house, but remained unmoving, waiting to see what she'd do. She completely ignored the fact that he was there until he asked, "Where's Carrie?"  
  
"She and Dawn went out to get something to eat," Buffy replied without looking at him. "Didn't they drop by?"  
  
"A few hours ago," Spike replied, keeping his eyes closed. "Dawn took a shower and then they left. I didn't ask where they were going. Assumed it'd be to you."  
  
"I don't mind, as long as they're back by nightfall."  
  
"Which isn't another two hours from now," he informed her.  
  
"I know."  
  
"Just checking. Figure I'll go look for the guy who broke in. You can come along, if you'd like."  
  
Buffy glared at him. He acted like he didn't need the help! "And since when do you care who does or doesn't break into my house?"  
  
He finally opened his eyes and met her gaze. "Since they threatened my baby," he replied.  
  
Buffy blinked. Definitely not the answer she was expecting. "Oh," she said, at a loss for words. "Right."  
  
"Why," he asked with an amused smile, "think it was cuz I was lookin out for ya?"  
  
She glared at him. "I wouldn't let you, if you offered," she growled.  
  
"Uh-huh," he said, still smiling. "Sure you wouldn't."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.  
  
"Nothing," he said innocently. "I was just agreeing with you."  
  
She glared at him for another minute before storming upstairs. Spike held back a laugh. She was so damn cute when she got angry!  
  
At a McDonalds on the other side of town, Carrie and Dawn were discussing their older 'siblings.' Carrie had been surprised at how quickly Dawn had picked up martial arts. True, it was only the basics, and she was going really easy on the other girl, but still, she seemed to be a natural, if there was such a thing.  
  
"They would be so cute together," Dawn was saying. "I can't believe they haven't gotten together!"  
  
"Yeah, they would be good for each other," Carrie agreed. "But I don't think they realize that. Actually, I think Buffy thinks she hates him."  
  
"Really? No way!" Dawn exclaimed. "Even I noticed that she likes him!"  
  
"Which is saying something," Carrie replied with a grin.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Carrie laughed and took one of her friend's french fries. "Hey, Dawn," she said, "I don't want you to get any ideas, but here." She handed Dawn a necklace with a teardrop pendant.  
  
"Wow," Dawn said softly. "It's really nice."  
  
Carrie grinned at her. "I thought you'd like it."  
  
"Yeah, I do," she replied. "What's it for?"  
  
"For being you. You're really cool, Dawn. One of the few people I consider a friend," Carrie told her. "Besides, I've heard it's supposed to protect its owner."  
  
"Then shouldn't you wear it?"  
  
Carrie had to laugh. "The way I figure, if anyone manages to kill me, and keep me dead, they deserve whatever they get out of it. I don't need any protection spell. In fact, once I did a spell that gives all my power to whoever can keep me dead."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, but I undid it after every demon around showed up trying to kill me. It got really annoying after a while," she replied.  
  
"You know," Dawn said thoughtfully, "I never thought about how tough it must be for Buffy to be the Slayer before this week. It makes me feel kinda bad about being so rotten to her all the time."  
  
"No way! You're the kid sister, you're supposed to drive her nuts! It's like, your job or something," Carrie informed her, stealing another fry.  
  
"Yeah," Dawn said with a grin. "I guess it is. And if you don't stop eating my fries, it'll be my job to kill you!"  
  
It took all the self-control Vulcan could muster to keep from jumping up and down from joy. His new plan was sure to work! All he had to do was kidnap the Slayer, and her younger sister was sure to ask the girl for help! And then he'd have them both! He had no need for the Slayer, but figured he could get some demon or another to trade an ancient relic or something for her. This was working out better than he had originally planned! He pulled his cape on over his shoulders and smiled to himself. Now, off to get the Slayer!  
  
Joyce entered the house quietly humming to herself. She had had a good day so far, and was determined not to let anything spoil it. However, she nearly had a heart attack when she noticed Spike out of the corner of her eye. "Oh," she said with a soft sigh, "it's only you."  
  
"Who'd you think?" he asked, slightly tilting his head to the side.  
  
She shrugged. "Usually when I get home, there's no one to greet me. Buffy's off with her friends or training, and Dawn's doing homework."  
  
"Huh," Spike said quietly. "Buffy's upstairs. She just got out of the shower, and Dawn's with Carrie."  
  
Joyce nodded. "Okay. So you've been here all day?"  
  
He returned her nod. "Only till sundown. Then I'll be out of your hair."  
  
"Oh, it's okay, I don't mind having you," she replied. "I don't think Buffy minds all that much either. She just won't admit to it."  
  
Spike grinned. "It's ironic. A vampire, and a vampire slayer living in the same house, if even for a short amount of time, without one killing the other."  
  
"It is, isn't it?" Joyce agreed. "Do you want something to eat or something?"  
  
"He doesn't eat food, Mom," Buffy told her as she came down the stairs. "He drinks blood."  
  
"Right. I forgot for a minute," Joyce said.  
  
"But thanks anyway," Spike said quietly.  
  
Joyce nodded. "I've still got to make dinner, though. Will Dawn and Carrie be here? Or are they eating with Xander or Willow or something?"  
  
"They'll be here," Buffy replied. "And so will I. But then I've got to go patrolling."  
  
"Okay," Joyce said happily, leaving the room.  
  
Buffy turned her attention to Spike. "What were you talking about?" she demanded, glaring at him.  
  
He grinned. "Oh, she was just telling me embarrassing childhood stories about you," he told her. "We were going to talk about killing you again, but you spoiled it." He frowned with mock disappointment.  
  
"Oh, shut up," Buffy said. "Sunset's in a few hours, and as soon as it's dark, I don't want to see you again."  
  
He nodded. "But Carrie's coming with me."  
  
"Not this again," Buffy groaned. "She can't go with you because you can't protect her!"  
  
"Neither can you," he replied, keeping his relaxed posture. "You have a hard enough time protecting yourself and your precious little gang."  
  
"You can't even hurt anyone!"  
  
"I can now," he countered.  
  
"You're out of practice."  
  
"That's what you think."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.  
  
He ignored her question, but tilted his head at her and asked, "Do you actually think she needs anyone's protection? You don't seem to realize how powerful she is. She defeated Angelus in all his glory, even when he had Dru and Darla helping him. She's managed to take care of herself since before the first member of your family was alive, so what makes you think she needs help?"  
  
She blinked and hesitated. "But you said..."  
  
"I said that I wanted to take her with me," he said calmly. "She's mine, and I love her more than anything, and as hard as it is for you to believe, I'd like to spend some time with her."  
  
Buffy thought about that for a minute. When she spoke again, her voice had an entirely different tone. "You mean she actually wants to spend time with you?"  
  
"Yeah," Spike replied. "She does. Doesn't Dawn spend time with you?" It startled him when she shook her head. "Did you ever ask her?"  
  
She shook her head again. "We can't seem to spend more than five minutes together without getting into a fight. I hate it. I love her and all, but it's just so hard to, you know..."  
  
"Let yourself care?"  
  
Those words startled Buffy so much that she couldn't reply. Just then, Dawn and Carrie entered, preventing her from having to say anything.  
  
"Hey," Dawn said cheerfully. "What's up?"  
  
"Nothing," Buffy said, glaring at Spike.  
  
"Big nothing," Carrie mumbled.  
  
Spike put his arm around her. "We were just talking about you. Wanna stay with me tonight?"  
  
"Sure," she replied happily. "And I can meet up with Dawn in the morning."  
  
"So as sun as the sun sets, were out of here," he told Buffy.  
  
"And so are you," Carrie said, a thoughtful look on her face. "After you two eat, why don't you go do something? Together, I mean."  
  
"I have to patrol," Buffy replied.  
  
"Me and Carrie'll take care of that, love," Spike volunteered. "We'll probably only be walking around anyway."  
  
Buffy looked at him skeptically. "What's in it for you?"  
  
"I get Carrie," he replied. "And a little action. That means it'll be a pretty good night."  
  
"Yeah," Dawn said. "C'mon, Buffy, it'll be fun. Please?"  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"Buffy," Carrie said firmly, "you are going whether you like it or not."  
  
"What about Mom?" Buffy demanded.  
  
"Oh, I'll be all right by myself," Joyce said from the doorway where she had been watching. "Besides, I think it's a good idea for the two of you to spend some quality time together."  
  
"Then it's settled," Carrie said. To Spike she added, "Lemme just grab my bag from upstairs."  
  
He nodded and removed his arm. She and Dawn went upstairs together.  
  
"Are you sure you can handle patrol?" Buffy demanded from behind him.  
  
He turned at the sound of her voice. "Positive. You were just saying how you wanted to spend time with her, get to know her better, well, consider this my gift to you. Play your cards right, Slayer, and the two of you'll be getting along perfectly. You just gotta learn how to keep from aggravating each other."  
  
Buffy and Dawn walked along in an uneasy silence. Neither seemed to know what to say to the other. They had eaten dinner, and then Carrie had practically thrown them out of the house before she and Spike also left. As Buffy thought about what Spike had said to her right before her sister had come back downstairs, she glance sideways at the younger girl next to her.  
  
She sighed. When Dawn looked at her, she said, "You grew up too fast. I swear, two months ago I was an only child. And now you're here. And already fourteen. It's not fair." When Dawn didn't reply, the awkward silence reigned once again.  
  
Several minutes later, Buffy spoke up again. "You know, we don't spend half as much time together as we should. I feel like I don't even know you."  
  
"You don't," Dawn said quietly. "Besides Carrie, no one knows me."  
  
Buffy recoiled like she had just been slapped in the face. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm not the older sister I'm supposed to be. It's just with slaying and..."  
  
"No," Dawn said, cutting her off. "For once, lets spend the evening talking about something other than vampires and demons and killing. Let's just act like two normal people who are going out together."  
  
"Okay," Buffy agreed. "So what do you wanna do?"  
  
"Wanna see a movie? I've heard Jose and the Pussy Cats was pretty good."  
  
"Sounds good," her older sister replied. "And then we can stop somewhere to get dessert."  
  
Across town in the cemetery, Spike and Carrie were having an easier time finding things to talk about. "So what's up with you and the whole 'Scooby Gang'?" Carrie asked with smile.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean, are you like part of the group or do you just occasionally show up to lend a hand?" she asked him.  
  
"I guess I just help out once in a while, unless you count getting yelled at and being pushed around 'helping,'" he replied.  
  
She nodded. "And why'd you volunteer us tonight?"  
  
He shrugged. "They need to spend more time together. She had just been telling me that, and when you spoke up like that, it seemed perfect."  
  
"You were? Really?"  
  
"Well, yeah, I mean, it's not like there's much else for us to talk about," he said.  
  
"No, I meant you were talking," she said with mock surprise in her voice. "I figured you'd be making out or something."  
  
He gave her a look. "Ha ha. Very funny."  
  
"It was, wasn't it?"  
  
He playfully shoved her, and she shoved him back. But before they could get into a pushing contest, a couple of vamps walked up to them.  
  
"Hey, Spike," the first said. "Whatcha got here?"  
  
"They're called people," he replied. "Specifically, this one's a girl."  
  
"Whatcha gonna do with her?" the second asked.  
  
"Oh, I dunno, probably take a walk, slay some vamps... Maybe not in that order..." he said, putting on his game face. "What do you think, Carrie?"  
  
"Sounds fun," she replied as the two vamps took fighting stances. Spike pulled out a stake as Carrie said, "You call that a stance? Where'd you learn that, Dumb and Dumber?"  
  
Spike grabbed the first one and shoved the stake through his heart, and while his 'friend's' dust was still settling, the second grabbed Spike's wrist and twisted, not causing much pain, but enough to make him drop the stake. The younger vampire kicked it away quickly.  
  
"Bad move," Spike growled. "That'll just make it more painful before you're dust again." He thought about it for a minute and then grabbed the younger, saying, "On second thought, if you be real nice and answer all my questions, I'll end it quick."  
  
The vampire only glared at him. Spike shrugged. "Oh well. Not like I care either way." With that, he sliced the guy's arm open, a long, deep wound that immediately gushed with blood. "Mm... Carrie, baby, do you think that hurts?" he asked at the vamp's facial expression.  
  
She tilted her head and looked at him. "No," she said. "I don't think so. Look, it's already starting to heal."  
  
"She's right," Spike told the younger, probably someone's minion. "What to do, what to do. Too bad there aren't any railroad spikes around," he said wistfully.  
  
"Why don't you try this?" Carrie asked innocently, handing him the stake he had dropped.  
  
"That could work," he said, just before he shoved it clean through the guy's shoulder. He howled in pain. "Oh, that must've felt good. So, you feel like talking with us yet?"  
  
The vamp was about to refuse, but thought the better of it and gasped through the pain, "What do you want to know?"  
  
"Yesterday some guy broke into the Slayer's place. Not a vampire, didn't need an invite," he replied. "Who was he?"  
  
"I... I'm not sure," he mumbled. "I heard... I heard there's some new guy around. Looking for... energy or something... He might've done it."  
  
"Energy?"  
  
The minion nodded. "I... His name... Vulcan... Not sure..."  
  
"Right," Spike said. "Thanks for your help." With that, he quickly shoved the stake through the guy's heart. He turned to dust instantly. Spike turned back to Carrie, switching back to his human face. "You thinkin what I'm thinkin?"  
  
"He was looking for me..." Carrie said. "But who's Vulcan?"  
  
Willow stretched as she got up. They had been researching at the magic shop for the past three hours, since Spike and Carrie had told them about Vulcan. Giles had never heard of him and had called them all to ask for help. "I'm gonna go get something to eat," she announced. "Anyone want me to bring them back anything?"  
  
She wrote down what they all wanted and headed for Burger King. It was somewhere around noon, and it was surprisingly quiet. After getting the food, Willow immediately headed back to the store. As much as they all hated research, she knew it was necessary. On her way back, she ran into Carrie, who was supposed to be sleeping at Spike's after she had been up all night.  
  
"Hey," she said, surprised to see the girl. "What's up?"  
  
Carrie smiled at her. "I was heading over to help. Seems kinda weird that you're all looking up some guy who's after me while I'm sleeping."  
  
"Oh," Willow said. "Does Spike know you came?"  
  
Carrie looked away. "Not exactly," she mumbled.  
  
"Uh-oh," Willow said. Spike had made it perfectly clear that he didn't want her going anywhere without him, and while most people would have thought he was being overprotective, Carrie didn't seem to mind. "He's gonna be mad."  
  
"Yeah, but it's not like it's your fault. I'm the one who left," she replied. "I'll take care of it, don't worry."  
  
"If you say so," Willow told her uncertainly. "I'll walk back with you." Carrie smiled weakly, and Willow could see how tired she was. "Are you getting enough sleep? Cuz, no offence, you won't be much help to us against this Vulcan guy if you're exhausted.  
  
"I'll be okay," Carrie reassured her. "I've seen worse."  
  
Willow looked at her skeptically, but didn't say anything else on the topic. When they got back to Giles' store, the others were just as surprised to see her.  
  
"Willow, I thought you were getting food," Xander said. "Somehow I don't think we can eat Carrie."  
  
"Here," Willow said, handing him the bag of food and rolling her eyes. "I hope it's still warm."  
  
He pulled out a french fry and stuck it in his mouth. "No, but fries are always better cold. You get any salt?"  
  
"It's in the bag."  
  
"Hey, Xander," Buffy said, interrupting his search, "some of the rest of us would like to eat here. You know, sometime before Christmas?" He passed the bag to her, but not before taking another fry. "Thanks," she said, passing out the food.  
  
"So did you find anything while I was gone?" Willow asked hopefully.  
  
"No such luck," Anya said. "These dumb old books don't know anything."  
  
"They're not alive, An," Xander informed her. "They can't know anything."  
  
"Oh yeah. I knew that," she said.  
  
Carrie settled down in a chair and grabbed a book. "Hey, wasn't Vulcan the name of a asteroid or a comet or something?"  
  
"They used to think there was a tenth planet between Mercury and the sun," Giles told her. "I don't know if they ever confirmed it or not. It was so small, telescopes couldn't pick it up."  
  
"Oh," she said, beginning to look through the book.  
  
Willow glanced around at her friends and looked at the clock. It was a little before one. She sighed, sat down, and began to read.  
  
About a hour after dark, when everyone was incredibly sick of reading, the door to the Magic Box opened to reveal an unhappy Spike. He walked directly over to Carrie, who was struggling to stay awake. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. "You're supposed to be sleeping."  
  
"I decided to help instead," she replied calmly.  
  
He sighed, exasperated. "You can't just stop sleeping! It's not good for you!" He turned to the Scoobies. "And you knew that! You should have made her sleep!"  
  
"Oh, come on, Spike," Buffy said. "What, do you want us to drug her?"  
  
"Yes!"  
  
Carrie shook her head. "Look, I'm fine, okay? I appreciate the concern, but I've already gotten this lecture from Willow, so don't bother. What's done is done."  
  
"That doesn't mean I have to like it."  
  
She grinned at him. "You don't like anything." She thought a minute before adding, "Well, almost anything." He glared at her. "Anyway, I'm gonna go check on Dawn, and go kill something. Anyone wanna come?"  
  
Instantly, every hand went up. Giles frowned. "But what about Vulcan?"  
  
"Let him try something," Buffy said. "Right now, I could kill twenty masters. I'll stick with Carrie and keep an eye on her."  
  
Spike sighed. "Not again," he moaned. "Didn't we just get rid of you?"  
  
"Well, I'm back now." Spike glared at her. She almost laughed. "You should see your face!"  
  
He spun around and walked towards the exit. "C'mon, Carrie," he called, and she jumped up to follow him.  
  
"See you around!" she called over her shoulder. "Buffy, you coming?"  
  
"Yes," she called, just as Spike yelled, "No!"  
  
"Good luck, Carrie," Xander said. "I hope you survive the two of them."  
  
She turned just long enough to grin at him and say, "I think I can manage," before she was out the door, with Buffy at her heels.  
  
"So explain to me again why you two are here?" Spike asked, giving Buffy a look.  
  
She sighed. "You are impossible!" she snapped. "I'm sticking with Carrie and I don't care what you say!"  
  
"Yeah, and I get to spend time with her, too," Dawn added. "There's a whole separate contract for friends." Her three companions looked at her. "Okay, not funny."  
  
Carrie shook her head. She opened her mouth to say something, but something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. Startled, she turned and moved in that direction. "Did you see that?" she asked.  
  
"Not really," Buffy told her. "Why?"  
  
"I thought I saw..." she trailed off for a few seconds. "Something. Forget about it," she said with a grin. "I'm just seeing things."  
  
"You want me to check it out?" Spike asked, taking a step forward.  
  
"No," she said. "Just wait here, okay? I'll be right back."  
  
Buffy started to contradict her, but Spike put a finger on her lips. "Go ahead," he said to Carrie. "We'll wait for you."  
  
She walked off and Spike moved to sit on a nearby gravestone. "What'd you do that for?" Buffy demanded as soon as the other girl was out of sight.  
  
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Slayer. Are you so stupid that you can't see when something's bothering a person?"  
  
"No," she snapped back angrily. "But it's not safe for her to-"  
  
"Did you hear a word I said to you before?" he demanded, cutting her off. "She doesn't need your protection."  
  
"Look, as fascinating as all this is," Dawn said, trying to stop the argument before it started, "I think we should be thinking about other, more important things right now than your own insecurities."  
  
Vampire and Vampire Slayer turned to look at her. "What's that supposed to mean?" Spike demanded.  
  
"I'm not insecure!" Buffy told her younger sister.  
  
Dawn ignored her. "Spike, you can't stand the thought of Buffy being anywhere near Carrie, cuz you're afraid she'll leave you, and Buffy, you can't stand the fact that someone doesn't need your protection," Dawn said.  
  
"Shows how much you know," Spike muttered.  
  
"Dawn, where do you come up with this stuff?"  
  
Spike glanced up to see Carrie walking back towards them. Her face was white and she was hugging what looked like a small bag to her chest. "Carrie, baby, are you okay?" he asked moving to her side.  
  
She nodded weakly. "I'll be okay," she murmured. "I'm just..."  
  
"What happened?" Dawn asked quietly, running over to her friend. "Did something attack you?"  
  
Carrie looked at her blankly for a minute. "No," she finally said. "Just- an old friend."  
  
Spike put an arm around her shoulders. "C'mon, love. You should get some rest. You're gonna overwork yourself," he said gently.  
  
She nodded absently, and moved with him when he pulled her away, still clinging the package.  
  
Carrie sat silently, staring at the bag in front of her. There was no way. She kept telling herself that over and over. It can't be. It's just a- She stopped. It couldn't be. No one else who had a similar design would leave it there. Not where she could find it. Her eyes filled with tears and she buried her face in her hands, sobbing.  
  
It startled Spike to see her cry more than anything else. Cautiously, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as she cried. "Hush," he whispered. "It's okay, baby, I'll take care of you."  
  
She shook her head. "You can't!" she managed between sobs. "Nothing can! It won't leave me alone! I can't fight it, and I can't run away!"  
  
Spike glanced up, searching Buffy's face for any sort of help she could give him. She looked back at him helplessly.  
  
"What, Carrie?" Giles asked softly. "What's chasing you?"  
  
Spike glared at him. "Shut up, Watcher. Now's not the time," he growled, rubbing the girl's back. He bent his head and murmured into her ear, trying to comfort her.  
  
The rest of the Scooby gang watched, not commenting. Willow looked at Dawn, who simply said, "I dunno. We got back and she just started crying."  
  
"What's that?" Xander asked, gesturing towards the bag Carrie had.  
  
Dawn shrugged. "She thought she saw something and went to check it out. When she came back, she had that, and she was totally out of it. She wasn't even gone for two minutes!"  
  
"She's just upset," Willow said softly. "She'll be okay."  
  
"I know," Dawn replied, "but I just wanna know what's wrong with her."  
  
"I'm fine," Carrie said, picking her head up off of Spike's shoulder, but not pulling out of his arms. She took a deep breath. "Just a little shook up."  
  
"What happened?" Spike asked.  
  
She shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."  
  
"What's in the bag?" Xander asked.  
  
"Nothing," she practically growled. "It'll never be anything, ever again."  
  
Spike gave her a strange look. "C'mon. You need some sleep." Before Buffy could protest, he had pulled her to her feet and was leading her out the door. She had grabbed the package, and was once again hugging it.  
  
When they got back to his crypt, Spike took the bag from Carrie. "You want me to get rid of it?" he asked.  
  
She hesitated, then shook her head. "I'm gonna hang onto it for a while."  
  
"Okay," he said, putting it on the floor near the bed. He gently pushed her onto it. "Get some rest," he commanded. "I'm gonna watch some TV. I'll keep it low."  
  
She nodded, and he walked away. Carrie waited until she was sure he was gone before sitting up and grabbing the package. She hadn't gotten to take a good look at it, just a glimpse, and she tried to convince herself she had been wrong about what she had seen. She unzipped the duffel bag and carefully pulled out its contents.  
  
She spread the black body suit out on the bed in front of her. The star with the two intertwining snakes on the front was just as bright as always. Next, she pulled out the black gloves that she knew would reach up to almost her elbows, followed but the black boots. Last, she pulled out the cape. It was black, with a black lining. She stared at the outfit in awe. It was just like she remembered. But something was missing. Quickly, she searched the bag, and located them in a side pocket on the inside. It was lined, perverting any security system from detecting the metal Chinese throwing stars. She laid them on top of the legs of the suit, five on each side.  
  
She almost gasped. It had been so long... She trailed the tips of her fingers over it. There were still two things missing, the only things she knew would come to her the second she called for them. She was still staring at it when she heard a noise from the next room. She hurriedly shoved things back into the bag, storing the whole package under the bed until- until she needed it.  
  
"I have to face it," Carrie told herself in the darkness. "They need my help, and I'm going to give it to them. She's going to come back."  
  
The next night, Carrie was ready and waiting for Spike when he woke up. "I need to talk to Buffy," she told him. "And you have to come with me."  
  
He nodded. "Can I ask why?" he said cautiously.  
  
She looked away. "I haven't been telling you the complete truth," she said. "I've been- hiding something- about my past."  
  
He gestured to the bag. "Is that it?"  
  
She nodded. "I'll explain when we get there."  
  
Again, he nodded. "Let me eat?" he said, more of a question than anything else.  
  
"Yeah. I don't think the world'll end in the few extra minutes we wait," she said with a weak grin. "Go ahead."  
  
He grabbed a bottle of blood and she moved into the other room, taking the bag with her. She returned after he had finished. "I'm ready," he told her. He grabbed his duster and followed her out.  
  
"Am I missing something here?" Buffy asked with a blank look.  
  
"A brain for starters," Spike muttered. She glared at him.  
  
Carrie sighed. She looked at Giles to see if he could help, but he simply shrugged. "You're not getting this," she said, more to herself than the others. She ran her fingers through her hair. She had hoped Giles would have heard of her. But if he had, he wasn't talking. She and Spike had gone over, and she had put on the outfit, but none of them seemed to see what she needed them to.  
  
"This is something," Anya said. "Something important. I should remember..."  
  
Carrie looked at her hopefully, but she couldn't remember. With a sigh of frustration, Carrie finally said, "Maybe this'll help." She closed her eyes and held her hands out in front of her. "Gemini," she murmured. There was a flash of light, and when it was gone, she was holding a sword. A sheath was around her waist, and a black mask was fixed on her face, outlining her eyes and going down her cheeks at the edges.  
  
Instantly, Anya's eyes light up, as did Giles'. "That's where I've seen you before!" she exclaimed.  
  
"You, Carrie? You're Gemini?" Giles asked, bewildered. "Why didn't you tell us?"  
  
"I didn't think you'd understand," she began.  
  
Buffy cut her off. "Hello? Anyone gonna let the rest of us in on this big secret?" she demanded.  
  
"Yes, I'm sorry, Buffy," Giles said. "Gemini was -is- a very powerful being back in the 500's. She was well known, and extremely popular with not only humans, but also several demonic creatures, evil as well as good. However, one day she simply vanished. No one ever knew what had happened to her."  
  
"This is so cool!" Dawn exclaimed. "My friend's a super hero!" All the other members of the room ignored the girl, but Gemini smiled at her.  
  
"Umm..." she said , "Is it okay if I get rid of the mask now? It feels kinda weird."  
  
"Yes, of course," Giles said. "How long has it been since you were last Gemini?" he asked as the mask faded from her face. The sword, however, she kept.  
  
"I don't really know anymore," she said. "A long, long time. I used it a few times after I 'disappeared' as you put it, and I used a similar one several years back to help some friends with their city. You know, to protect it?"  
  
Buffy nodded, but Spike spoke up before she could. "So why didn't you tell me before?" he asked, trying to sound angry, but doing a very bad job of it. It was obvious to everyone that he had a soft spot for the girl.  
  
She looked away. "It sounds really stupid, but I didn't think you'd like me if you knew, or you'd only like me because of who I was before."  
  
He just looked at her for a minute before wrapping his arms around her. "You are a very stupid girl," he told her.  
  
She smiled. "And you're an idiotic vampire."  
  
"As touching as all this is," a voice said from the front of the shop, "I'm afraid I'll have to break it up."  
  
All the members of the Scooby gang turned to see a very strange man, around fifty, watching them. "Who are you?" Xander demanded, moving closer to Anya. "What do you want?"  
  
"You haven't heard of me? I'm hurt," he said. With a laugh that sounded purely evil, he announced, "I am Vulcan!"  
  
"Vulcan?" Willow repeated with a confused look on her face. "Giles, what's a Vulcan?"  
  
"Oh, I know!" Anya exclaimed, finally remembering where she had heard of him. "He's an evil creature who came about shortly after Gemini disappeared. But, he was locked away a long, long time ago."  
  
"You know your history," Vulcan said. "But now I've been released, and I'm back to destroy the creature who imprisoned me for so long. You will be annihilated," he informed Carrie, who had recalled her mask at some point.  
  
"Right, this is where I step in," Buffy said, moving into a fighting position. "Xander, protect Dawn. Maybe you've heard of me, Vulcan. I'm the Slayer."  
  
"The Slayer?" he repeated. "Not much of a fighter, if you ask me. And what's this? A vampire, a witch, and an ex-demon? You have a very interesting group here."  
  
"I'll have you know, we're extremely powerful," Giles informed him.  
  
Gemini unsheathed her sword. "Leave, Vulcan, before I lock you up again," she growled.  
  
He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Oh, I'm so scared," he said. "What are you going to do? Stab me with your scary little dagger?"  
  
"Something like that," she replied. She pointed the sword at his heart, and shouted, loud and clear, "Gemini!" There was another flash of light, and when it was gone, Vulcan was kneeling on the floor, clutching at his heart and panting.  
  
"It'll- take- more than- that to- defeat me, girl," he panted.  
  
Spike took that opportunity to rush him, and Buffy followed his lead. They went on either side of him and attacked. He managed to get up and defend himself with some magic, but it was hopeless. With a Slayer and a hundred year old vampire against him, as well as Gemini, he couldn't even pull off a decent spell.  
  
"Willow!" Gemini called. "You and Tara find a containing spell for me!"  
  
"Got it!" Willow replied.  
  
"Anya, find something unbreakable that I can confine him to, and Xander, protect Dawn!"  
  
"We're on it," Xander replied.  
  
Vulcan finally managed to get away from Spike and Buffy long enough to stutter out a spell. The room was suddenly flooded with demons, all attacking their group. Gemini swore and charged into them, and before anyone realized it, several of them were down, victims of her sword. Vulcan used the confusion to get to the back of the room, successfully losing Vampire and Slayer in the crowd. Gemini followed, fighting her way to him. He cast a few quick spells of protection, strength, and healing before facing her.  
  
"You think you can stay?" he hissed at her. "They'll never accept you, not now. Not when they find out. You'll have to leave, run away again. You're putting them in danger."  
  
She glared at him and replied, "At least I have friends."  
  
Again, he laughed. "You think I care? Your connections with the simple beings of this realm is a sign of weakness," he hissed at her.  
  
"That's what you think," Spike growled at him, coming up from behind them. "But you also think you can defeat us, which is a mistake in itself."  
  
"And what are you going to do about it, Vampire?" he sneered. "Bite me?"  
  
"Something like that," Buffy told him. "Willow?"  
  
Willow and Tara began chanting in what seemed to be Latin. Smoke filled the room, and when it cleared, all of the remaining demons were gone.  
  
"Carrie," Giles said, "it's your call. Do you want us to help, or back off?"  
  
"I can handle him," she said.  
  
He nodded. "Buffy, back away," he commanded. "You too, Spike. Let her settle this." They obeyed, Spike very reluctantly.  
  
Gemini lowered the point of her sword and began slowly circling Vulcan, who had called a sword to him. He turned with her, watching for her attack. When she didn't, he got impatient and charged her. She blocked his attack easily and countered him. She quickly got the upper hand. With one powerful swing, she broke his blade in two. He blinked in surprise at her power and she held put one hand towards him. Golden flames shot from her fingertips and surrounded him, leaving little scorch marks where they touched his skin.  
  
Quicker than anyone could follow, Gemini had retrieved five Chinese throwing stars and had him pinned to the wall. "Anya," she called, "you got that for me yet? Willow, Tara, the spell?"  
  
"Right, I got it," Anya said happily, holding up a crystal. "One of the hardest rocks there is, plus it's magic, so it's even harder."  
  
"And here's the spell," Tara told her. "You want me and Willow to do it?"  
  
"No," Gemini said. "I'll do it." She stretched her hand towards them and the incantation flew to her hand. Without even looking at Anya, the crystal flew out of her hand and landed at Vulcan's feet. Gemini read the spell, and he was surrounded by energy, glowing. There was a strange sucking sound, and then he was gone. The crystal glowed softly, but then even that vanished.  
  
Spike looked at Carrie, watching as she took back her throwing stars. "Carrie, baby?" he asked quietly.  
  
She looked up with tears in her eyes. "I have to go," she told him. "He was right. I'm putting you in danger. And Dawn. I'm sorry."  
  
He ran up to her and pulled her into his arms. "No, I can take care of myself, and Dawn has Buffy. We'll be fine. Please, don't go."  
  
"I have to," she mumbled. "I'll try to come back, later. But for now..."  
  
He released her and forced a smile. "All right," he said. "I'll miss you."  
  
"I'll miss you, too," she said, with an equally forced smile. "Giles? Protect that crystal for me?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"I'll come back, if you ever need me," Carrie said, glancing at Dawn. She smiled at the girl. "You've got my protection. And don't let these guys boss you around." Dawn only nodded. "Buffy, you gotta keep Spike in check for me. But not too badly," she added as an afterthought.  
  
"Always."  
  
"Goodbye, Spike," she said softly. "I'll see you around?"  
  
"Count on it." He hugged her again, and when he stepped back, she moved away a little, keeping her eyes locked on his. Slowly, she faded from view. As soon as she was gone, Spike fell to his knees, crying.  
  
No one said anything for a long time. Dawn moved over to her sister, who wrapped an arm around her in a brief half-hug. "This is why I'm so careful with you," she whispered. "I couldn't get through it." Then she moved away from the younger girl to go to Spike. She wrapped her arms around him as he continued to sob.  
  
The End 


End file.
